Awakening of the Rose Princess
by WaterLilly37
Summary: All Anis Yamamato wanted was to see her father again. Instead, she ends up running into this little black creature who says she is a princess of the rose. And what's more? She's destined to help prevent the opening of the devil's door with the help of her Rhonde Knights. This must be a dream, right?
1. Chapter 1

Awakening of the Rose Princess

 _ **Today.**_

It was finally here.

Anis gathered all of her materials she needed and quickly shoved them into her bag. To anyone else, this was just a normal school day, but to Anis, this was the day her father was coming home.

How long has it been?

Anis rarely ever got to see her father. He was always away and would never go into details about where he was going or what he was doing. Though, she did receive a postcard from time to time. Even rarer still was when her father actually came home to visit.

" _I wonder if I should message him…"_

Anis glanced at the clock on her bedroom wall. It read 6:30 a.m. It was still really early and she didn't want to disturb her father if he had been travelling all night. Besides, by supper time tonight he would be finally be home and she could ask him all the questions that she had saved. He may even stay home for longer than a weekend this time. And maybe, just maybe, he might stay home for good.

After breakfast, Anis tidied up the house a little to make sure it was perfect for her father's arrival. Just as she was sure everything was perfect, she headed out the door and towards school.

~~ X ~~

It was warm for the middle of autumn. Anis didn't bother to take a jacket, her school sweater was fine. With her bag slung over her left shoulder, she walked the familiar route to school.

As Anis neared the school, she felt off.

" _Oh no"_ she thought, _"not again"._

Ever sense Anis was small, she remembered having these _attacks._ She couldn't really explain it and no doctor could ever diagnose her symptoms. It had gotten to the point where people believed she was lying and seeking attention because of her lack of family life at home. But that wasn't it. Sure, Anis was lonely sometimes but she was never one to seek attention of strangers.

But still, this pressure persisted. The older she got, the stronger these attacks seemed to have gotten. Though, she would never let anyone know that now. The scrutiny she received from her childhood had all but turned her away from asking for help. No, she would trudge through it like every other time she experienced it.

After sitting down on the curb for a few minutes, the pressure seemed to have cease. She got up and ran the rest of the way, hoping that that would be the last of it for a very long time.

~~ X ~~

" _Hey Anis! Over here!"_

Anis turned her attention to her classmate and best friend, Miyo, call her from her seat in the front of the class. Anis signed.

It's not that she didn't like Miyo, but her friend was way too bubbly and always gossiped about others to Anis. And of course, boys. Miyo loved talking about boys including her fellow classmate Kaede Higa.

Anis didn't get what the big deal was about Kaede. Sure, he was good looking and one of the top students in their grade, but he was always alone and didn't seem to socialize with anyone. It was never a problem that he wouldn't be able to make friends, it was because he chose not to. A lot of people tried to get close to him, but he would always push them away saying he didn't need friends nor a girlfriend. In fact, he spent most of his time sleeping during lectures and getting away with it. She also found out from Miyo that he spent a lot of time working at his family's shrine. In fact, he spent most of his time sleeping during lectures and getting away with it. She also found out from Miyo that he spent a lot of time working at his family's shrine.

" _Did you hear?"_ Miyo exclaimed. _"Kaede was seen yesterday flirting with a group of girls from Class 2-B! Of course, he turned them all down or so they say."_

Typical.

" _That's great."_ Anis answered sarcastically. _"But that doesn't have anything to do with –"_

" _Why would she have any interest in that boy when she has me?"_ A familiar voice interrupted. Anis and Miyo turned around to see Haruto staying a foot away with a cheery smile on his face.

" _Oh. It's you"_ Miyo said dryly. Haruto and Miyo never did get along but they were both friends of Anis and would put up with each other to be with her. " _I figured you would have left by now."_

Haruto just smiled. _"Now now, I still have three days left you know. And I want to spend them all with my good friend Anis. Who, might I add, has no interest in the boys that you talk about."_

Anis signed and walked slowly back to her seat. She didn't feel like being in the middle of their bickering. They could come talk to her when they cooled down and stopped trying to put words in her mouth.

Before lectures started, she noticed the boy Kaede walk into the classroom with, almost instantly, all her female classmates giggling and staring at him. Well, she certainly wasn't envious of him for that. Anis grabbed her phone from her bag and noticed she had one new message.

Her heart raced.

Maybe it was her father.

Anis quickly opened up her messages to find that, it was indeed her father that messaged her. She opened it up barely able to contain her excitement.

 _Anis, I am so sorry. It seems something has come up. I won't be able to come home today afterall. Hope all is well._

 _Dad._

Anis could feel her heart drop. Not again. Not after all the hype and all the preparing she did for his arrival. Her father was supposed to be home with her! What was so darn important that he had to bail on her…again!

She closed her phone and shoved it into her bag. It didn't matter. Whatever it was, he meant he wasn't going to come home.

~~ X ~~

Anis began the slow walk back to her house. School was now over which meant Anis could finish doing the last few things she had planned for the day.

Or _had_ planned.

Anis felt tightness in her chest that she knew wasn't related to her attacks. She wanted to cry, but she refused to. She had to be stronger than that.

She placed her arms to her sides and balled her tiny hands into fists waiting for the urge to cry to pass.

 _"What's ze matter?"_ came a voice that Anis didn't recognize.

She turned around to see who it was talking to her but no one was there. Confused, Anis looked around to see if she could spot the owner of the voice. Nothing.

" _Did I dream that?"_ she thought to herself.

 _"I didn't expect the Princess to be zuch a zofty!"_ the voice said again. Anis frantically started looking around, swearing that this time she definitely heard a voice.

 _"Where are you?"_ She asked. _"If you're so concerned for my welfare, then why hide?"_ She expected the owner of the voice to pop out of a bush or from one of the many fences bordering the streets of houses.

Just then, this black _something_ dropped from above to her eye level and only inches away from her face. Anis screamed as she swung her bag at this thing that had suddenly appeared.

" _Woah!"_ cried out the little black monster. _"Watch out! You almost hit me!"_

" _That's the point!"_ Anis cried out, standing her ground with her bag held tightly with two hands. Whatever this thing was, she wasn't going down without a fight.

" _I won't hurt you! Promize! I just wantz to talk! Talk! Zat is all!"_ Now that she had time to calm down a little, she began to examine what exactly she was looking at. It appeared to be the size of a cat, black, with little wings and pointy ears. Its eyes were gleaming red and kind of reminded her of a deformed bat. As it smiled down at her, she noticed the sharp teeth this thing had. Certainly, it could rip her apart with just one bite.

" _Do ze feel better now? Are ze not afraid of me anymore?"_ the little black thing said calmly.

" _I'm fine,"_ Anis answered, _"but what the heck are you suppose to be? And what do you want with me?"_ The little black creature just smiled showing all of it's teeth again.

" _I'm Ninufu!"_ he chimed. " _And I am here to help ze awaken to become ze princess again!"_ Anis stared blankly at Ninufu expecting it to laugh saying that this was some kind of joke or that he was just teasing her. She waited, yet he just continued to fly there staring at her with this goofy smile.

" _Ok."_ She replied, rubbing her temple. Clearly, she was crazy. The stress from school had finally gotten to her. Or maybe it was caused from her depression as of late. Whatever the reason, she decided that the best course of action was to ignore this… _thing_ … and continue with her daily life.

Anis slowly slung her bag over her should and walked passed the creature without so much as a glance. Once Ninufu realized that she was walking away from him, he began flying after her.

 _"Wait! Ze is the princess! I am sure!"_ he called out. Anis continued to walk.

 _"Uh huh, and I am suppose to believe this because?"_

" _You haz to believe me! I tellz ze truth!"_

" _Oh really. So I am just suppose to believe some flying bat like creature that I am supposedly this princess that you speak of and do what? Save the world? What proof do you even have that I am who you are looking for?"_

" _Zat's easy. Just look in your-"_

Just then, Anis felt the ground start to shake and an ominous growl come from close by. It sent chills up her spine.

"What was that?"

"Ah!", Ninufu, all but too calmy, chimed in. "Look's like you'll be getting all ze proof ze'll need!" 


	2. Chapter 2

Awakening of the Rose Princess

How did it end up like this?

Anis was running away from the sound she heard just moments before coming from the opposite direction she was heading. Ninufu was all the proof that she needed to understand that she wasn't imagining the sound.

" _I thought you zaid you needed proof that ze was the princess! Zen why are you running away?"_ Anis continued to run without glancing back. Though, she knew Ninufu wasn't even a foot away from her, keeping pace.

" _Are you crazy!?"_ She replied. _"Proof that what? Demons actually exist? And one that may be bigger and scarier than you? No thanks!"_

Anis was nearing her house when suddenly she realized that she hadn't heard the growl for some time. She finally stopped running and collapsed on the side walk gasping to catch her breath.

 _"Thank god….I think… it's gone…"_ She said out loud in hopes to convince herself that that monster she heard was really gone.

" _For now,"_ smiled Ninufu. _"But ze will be back. Zat is why you have to awaken as ze Rose Princess and –"_

" _Stop."_ Anis got back up to her feet and looked at Ninufu straight in the eye. _"Just because you actually exist and you say that I am this princess of yours, doesn't mean that I agree to do it. Besides, I had enough excitement to last me a lifetime. Find someone else to be your princess."_

Ninufu continued to smile at her. Was he ever upset?

" _No one else can be ze princess. Only you. It's ze blood of your ancestors."_ Anis shook her head. Clearly, nothing she would say would reach the little bat like creature.

" _Ok, so even if I was to accept this, what would I have to do?"_

" _Zasy! All ze would have to do is close za devil's door for good!"_ Anis stared at Ninufu without so much as a blink.

Was it serious?

 _"The devil's door huh? Yeah, sounds simple enough"_ she replied sarcastically. Ninufu just continued to grin at her.

Anis began walking again. Her head was starting to hurt. This day had been way too much. Ninufu was close behind, like he always was since she ran into him.

~~ X ~~

As Anis was nearing her house, she felt a tightness around her chest again as the pressure slowly started to increase. It was happening again.

" _Great. Another attack"_ she said as she grasped her hands into tight fists, trying to ignore the pain that was ever increasing.

" _Ah, so ze can feel it,"_ Ninufu said, as Anis looked at him strangely. _"Ze dark energy. It's cause of ze devil's door. The dark energy, it's zeeping from the cracks of ze door. Zat is why you have to fix it before it destroys you."_

 _"Wait, are you telling me these attacks I've been having since my childhood are because of this door?!"_ Anis shouted, completely taken off guard with her newest bit of information.

 _"But of course! You are ze rose princess! You can feel ze dark energy and it will continue to get worse unless ze closes the door for good!"_

 _"So, if I close the door, these attacks will stop? Ok, so what do I have to do to close the door?"_

 _"Again, zasy! You have to collect ze Arcana cards. Zhey have ze power you need to close ze door. Once ze collects zem all, ze door will disappear."_ Anis stared at Ninufu, hoping to catch even a glimmer in his eye telling her that this was all just some ruse. But he didn't flinch.

" _OK, so where is this door? And how do I collect these cards?"_

" _You have ze awaken as ze Rose Princess first. You can do this at ze door. It's at ze shrine! Come, let's go!"_ And with that, Ninufu started flying away and towards the direction of the city's shrine: The Higa Shrine.

Anis followed.

As she neared the shrine, she kept telling herself that this wasn't real. That she was actually dreaming and that at any moment she would wake up. But to her surprise, she never did.

She reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the shrine and paused. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to walk all the way up to this shrine and somehow become this Rose Princess that Ninufu kept talking about?

But then again, what choice did she have? Her attacks were getting worse and nobody was able to help her overcome them. In fact, most people still believed she was lying about it. So it would make sense that her condition that was deemed unusual would be cured by unusual means? Heck, she had nothing to lose by trying.

She started making her way up the stairs.

~~ X ~~

Anis, with Ninufu resting upon her left shoulder, stood only feet from the entrance of the Higa shrine. It wasn't that big and certainly nothing impressive. Still, it was a shrine and Anis grew up knowing that a shrine was a special place for worship and miracles.

" _Ze door is just beyond here"_ Ninufu said, pointing to the door of the shrine.

" _So I just got to go in here, become the Rose Princess and collect the Arcana cards so I can close the door and then this will all be over with, right?"_ Ninufu nodded. _"Well here goes…"_

" _Hey, what are you doing here?"_

Anis jumped three feet in the air. She was not expecting anyone else to be here. She turned around to see a young male dressed in a robe holding a broom in his right hand staring directly at her. It took a few seconds to realize who this person was.

 _"Kaede? What are you doing here?"_

" _What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here."_ Anis looked confused for a second as she let what Kaede said sink in. _The Higa Family Shrine. Higa. Kaede Higa._

" _This is your family shrine?!"_ She couldn't believe it. This door that she supposedly had to fix was located in Kaede's family shrine? This had to be a bad joke.

" _Yes. Now what are you doing here?"_ Kaede gave no warm smile nor did his voice carry any sympathy or grace. It was sullen and to the point. He was no different here than he was at school.

" _Well you see…"_ Anis began. Just then, Ninufu flew in between Anis and Kaede, waving his arms in front of her.

" _You can't zay! You can't tell any one! It's za secret!"_ Anis's heart dropped. What was Ninufu thinking? It was hard enough to try and come up with a story about her purpose in being here. Now she had to try and think of an excuse for the appearance of Ninufu! 

Anis quickly grabbed the bat-like creature and struggled to hide him before her back. Ninufu fought back, trying to free himself. _"Stop Ninufu!,"_ she whispered. _"I can't let Kaede see you!"_

" _What are you doing?"_ Kaede asked questioning. _"This is sacred ground. If you are only here to fool around, I will kindly ask you to leave this premise at once."_

Anis gave him a weak smile. This gave Ninufu a chance to escape Anis's clutches and fly up high where she couldn't reach him.

" _Human can't zee Ninufu! Only ze princess can zee him!"_ Well, THAT would have been helpful about five minutes ago. Anis signed.

" _Kaede, it might seem strange but I am really here to visit the shrine to pay my respects,"_ Anis started. She really had no clue about shrines. In fact, this was the first one she ever visited. _"And so, I will only be a few minutes and then I will be on my way again. So please, don't make me leave yet."_

Kaede stared at her for a few minutes before he, himself, signed.

" _Alright. I will be out here sweeping. I will give you a few minutes but then you have to leave."_ And with that, he left Anis and continued to sweep the leaves from the stairs.

" _OK. Now that he's gone, let's do this"_ Anis said.

She walked into the shrine with Ninufu close behind. It looked old and worn down, yet sturdy. The floor was bare besides a few mats laid in front of a monument of some god. Flowers were placed on the bottom of the monuments feet.

 _"Ze door is just right zhere!"_ cried out Ninufu. He seemed overly excited as he flew up to the momument and turned to face Anis again.

 _"Wait, I don't see any door…"_ she began. But just as she had spoken the words, a blinding light surfaced from behind the monument and within seconds, a stone door had appeared.

Anis was awed by the sight as she focused in on the door, the so called Devil's Door she would be in charge of fixing. It was made of stone and had a lot of markings on it, none of which made any sense to Anis. These markings were also glowing a pale yellow light as blue and red streaks of energy were criss-crossing the path of the door.

As soon as the door had been completely summoned, Anis could feel one of her attacks coming on. This time, it was much stronger and caused her to fall to her knees grasping for air. She clung at her chest as tears ran down her face. This was by far the worst attack she had ever experienced.

" _Ze dark energy, it's escaping. Zat is what's causing you such pain"_ Anis continued to stare at the door through blurred vision thanks to the tears she was trying to hold back. So, this was the cause of all her pain.

 _"Ninufu, what do I have to do to become the princess?"_ Anis struggled to find her voice through the pain. But she knew she had to do this. Whatever doubts she had before vanished as she looked upon the Devil's Door.

 _"Just accept ze role you are to play."_ Ninufu replied. _"Do you aczept?"_ Anis shock her head. Ninufu looked at her again. _"You must zay it. Do you aczept, Rose Princess?"_ Anis, still on her hands and knees, looked back up at Ninufu.

 _"Yes, I accept"_

And with that, the Rose Princess was born once again.


End file.
